The Trouble With Werewolves
by PottedLilies
Summary: Companion to Of Raindrops, Flowers, and Wishing Wells. Alice, Sirius, Vanessa, and Remus' essays on how to recognize and kill a werewolf. You do not have to read one to understand the other. Essay format only. Rated for language. Oneshot; complete.


**PLEASE READ: This goes along with my story **_**Of Raindrops, Flowers, and Wishing Wells**_**, which is why there is a character, Vanessa, whom you may not recognize. This coincides with chapter 32 for those of you who read my other story. For those that don't I would appreciate if you would give it a look!**

**These are written for an assignment to a vile, pedophilic teacher. **

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR. REMUS' ESSAY BASED OFF OF **_**OONY**_**'S FIC **_**PERSPECTIVE!**_

_It's time to stand up for what you believe in._

**The Trouble With Werewolves, by Pottedlilies**

_**Signs of the Werewolf**_

_By Alice A. Hinton, Gryffindor_

_Might I first just say that your reasons behind assigning this essay are utterly despicable, and that I hope you burn in hell. That being said, here is my essay. It's not going to be what you wanted, but it will be what you asked for. How to identify and kill a werewolf? I'm going to tell you._

_How does one identify a werewolf? Well, there is always the tufted tail and elongated muzzle, but honestly, if you're close enough to see those things, you're dead anyway so why bother? The signs that someone needs to look for, the ones that matter, cannot be seen in the beast, rather in the man._

_To identify a werewolf, look for the person that blames everything bad that happens on himself. That feels as if all of the pain in the world will disappear upon his death. Look for the person who becomes more reserved as each month goes on, the one who makes up numerous excuses and always seems to have a sick or dying family member to go home to._

_Something else that really gives them away is the fact that they are always surprised by compliments and caught off guard by offers of friendship._

_If you are looking for a werewolf right before full moon, look for the person who flinches at bright lights and unexpected noises, for his senses have already began to heighten. Look for someone who pulls their robes tight around them, as if trying to hold themselves together a little longer. Look for someone who stares lovingly but longingly at the other students around him, at his friends, as if wondering if it is the last time he will ever see them._

_Look for someone who refuses to make mistakes, knowing that even the slightest misstep could result in expulsion or prison. Look for someone who hones their magic to perfection, trying in some small way to undo all of the horrid things they imagine they've done while under the moon's dark influence._

_As for how to kill a werewolf, well, legend says a silver bullet through the heart will do, but I imagine that would kill anyone and anything, would it not? And I do not believe the being lycan by night causes one to be invincible to any form of murder that would be effective against any other man by day._

_But why the hell would you want to kill a man while he is actually a man? Isn't that what Voldemort is doing? And doesn't most of the world see what he is doing as wrong? Is it not just as prejudice to kill someone because they have wolf blood in their veins as it is to murder due to non-magic ancestry? The anti-werewolf laws and regulations are hypocritical and unethical, but that isn't what you asked for, is it professor? You want to know how to kill a werewolf? Try and multitude of spells, try a silver bullet, or a regular one, try heart break, for that kills like anything else. Just because someone has a beast inside them, doesn't mean that they don't feel pain just like you or me. Well, me mainly, I'm not entirely sure you feel anything at all. _

_You want to kill a werewolf? Aim for the heart. You want to kill a man? Good luck, for in most, the heart is a small target indeed._

_**The Trouble with Werewolves**_

_By Sirius O. Black, Gryffindor_

_The trouble with werewolves is that while it's easy to be afraid of them by night, during the day, they're just like you or me, better really, in most cases. I won't name any names, though I know you're already aware of a certain 'furry little problem,' but the one who has it is smarter than I am, nicer than I am, and is surely destined to do greater things than I am. I guess what I'm saying is that even though one of my best friends goes full on monster once a month, the rest of the time he more than makes up for it. We all have our demons, you know? Well, of course you know. I mean, it's YOU._

_The trouble with our werewolf especially is that he is entirely too hard on himself about his condition. I mean, it isn't his damn fault, is it? No. It's not. So I guess if I were trying to spot a werewolf in a crowd, I would simply start shrieking in false pain and see who checks the sky, afraid that by some stretch of the imagination, it might be their doing._

_How do you kill a werewolf? I'll just straight up tell you that I haven't the faintest idea outside the normal ways to kill any living thing. Why? Because I haven't fucking thought about it. My best friend is a werewolf, so why in the hell would I ever want to know how to kill one?_

_And that's the trouble with werewolves - they're people too. They can make friends and enemies just like anyone else. They can help you with homework, or pull a prank with you, or start a food fight, or tell you off for being stupid. The trouble with werewolves is that they aren't werewolves, not really. Maybe once a month, yes, but the rest of the time? The rest of the time they are regular people, with mostly regular lives. People just trying to get by in a world that was built to be a against them. But for was reason is it like that?_

_Your guess is as good as mine._

_**My Own, Personal Werewolf**_

_By Vanessa C. Reese, Gryffindor_

_Yes, you read the title correctly professor. My werewolf. That's him. My beautiful, self-sacrificing, perfect werewolf. That's right. Perfect._

_You assigned this, I assume, with the hope that some student would discover his secret and expose him because you cannot. Well, just so you know, Professor, that is NOT going to happen. Half of the class already knows, and wouldn't tell for anything. As for the other half, none of them are bright enough to even know that something is up._

_So, on to the actual question. How to identify a werewolf. Well, from my experience, a werewolf has friends who love him dearly, girls chasing after him quite frequently, werewolves make excellent grades, get appointed prefect, and are wonderfully caring boyfriends. I suppose one could also assume that they all always look tired, have sandy blond hair, and love chocolate more than any other food._

_But who am I to make those sort of assumptions?_

_How to kill a werewolf. Well, I imagine any method would do. Voldemort is gaining power, you could let him do your dirty work. But honestly, killing werewolves isn't really on my list of "10 things I want to do before I die." As a matter of fact, I am currently working my ass off to make life better for them._

_You can give us a million essays and make us read book after book, but the only way you or I is going to change things in our own favor is by changing the mind of the Wizarding world, and that, let me tell you, is no small feat. Though, from my end at least, it's worth doing no matter how hard it may be. Some things just are. I'm fighting for my werewolf, because if I don't, who will? Certainly not you, who cannot see past his own selfish pride long enough to realize that there is a war starting and that maybe, some things are bigger than yourself. I mean, in this war, wouldn't it be better to have the werewolves and the centaurs and all the other magical creatures on our side? At least, I hope we are on the same side, otherwise Dumbledore really might be off his rocker. But anyway, to have the goblins and house elves and the lot of them fighting with us rather than against us seems like the best option, don't you agree? But in order for that to happen, we must first learn to treat the magical beasts around us with the respect we expect from them._

_And that's another thing, how in the bloody world can we demand respect and obedience from those to whom we refuse to return the favor? This world cannot simply be run by one all powerful race, because no one group is all powerful. House elves and mermaids have magic that we as wizards could never know, could the same not be true for werewolves? And who is to say that by giving werewolves a chance we are damning the wizard race for eternity? Where the hell is the harm in giving them a chance, in trying to make life better for them while they are people? Think about it, Professor. Were you in that position, would you want to be perpetually hunted, or would you want someone to try to sympathize with you?_

_Of course, how could someone so heartless even begin to feel the pain of someone who's heart is - quite literally - double the size?_

_I'm sorry, Professor, I seem to have gotten off topic. Where was I? Oh yes, how to kill a werewolf. Legend has it that shooting one through the heart with a silver bullet will do the trick, so I imagine you have a whole drawer-full, right?_

_People can be dreadful sometimes, I've discovered. And probably deserve to die just as much, if not more, than werewolves. At least the 95 percent of the time that they are human, they do everything in their power to make up for the other 5 percent. Too bad we as regular humans can't claim to do that._

_So back to my werewolf. He can be identified by his kindness, his friendships, his compassion, and his loving, generous heart, and he can be killed just like anyone else, for no one is immortal and invincible, so there are numerous ways to kill him. Though, from my perspective, it's not so much HOW you would kill him as it is WHY you would._

_**Me, My Wolf, and I**_

_By Remus J. Lupin, Gryffindor_

_Hello, Professor._

_I know you asked for an essay on how to recognize and kill a werewolf, but honestly, I have ways of recognizing them far beyond normal human perception, and to tell the truth, I am not at all suicidal._

_So I imagine my essay will be slightly different than those of all the other students. Now, I do not believe that anything I say here will change your mind in the slightest as to your opinion of people of my… condition, but someone once told me that it's a lot easier to make something work if you go into it already fully convinced that it will rather than going into it expecting to fail, so I am going to hope that you will at least consider what I have to say, if only for her sake._

_The essay you are about to read will answer your questions, though undoubtedly not in the way you expect._

_Now, the other papers you will receive will surely talk about the werewolf's tufted tail and its elongated muzzle, but how many of them actually know what they are talking about? How many of them have seen it first hand, know for a fact that werewolves grow to one and a half times their normal height? Because that is one of the many myths that people simply take as fact. In truth, the spine grows twice its original size, but because as a human they are not used to holding up that much weight, they slouch and walk on all fours, giving them the appearance of being smaller than they are._

_But you didn't know that, did you professor? You with all your years in school just learned something new from someone you consider below your scope of interest. You'd be surprised, professor, how much more I know than you._

_For instance, do you know what it's like to feel every bone in your body snap and reassemble into a completely different form? I do. Do you know what it's like to freeze in terror whenever the moon appears on a cloudy night? I do. Tell me, have you spent your whole life trying to push people away because you're afraid of hurting someone who gets too close? I have. Have you ever smelt blood and had to run the other way for fear of craving its taste? I have._

_And do you go around living your life day after day as of everything is perfect and things couldn't be better because you worry that if you complain of the trouble of being a monster those friends you do have will push you away? I do._

_And speaking of things that you know nothing of, were you aware that there is a rule book for those cursed as I am? Yes, a literal, ink and paper rule book with three hundred and twenty-one different things that I am not allowed to do. Do you know how many things are on the list of what I can do? Thirty-seven. Impossible, you say? Not at all. I have the book under my bed, as the first rule in the book is that it must stay within my vicinity. And after that, there are three hundred and twenty restrictions on my life. Would you ever have imagined that something as simple as dating once I am of age is technically forbidden? That I could be accused of using a love potion or a confundus charm on any member of the female population that ever shows any amount of interest in me when I am past the age of seventeen? If you never imagined it, guess what? It's my harsh reality._

_Do you know what happens if I so much as toe the line on any one of those rules? I would hazard a guess that you don't. Allow me to enlighten you, professor. It all begins with a letter. A single, brief letter from the Ministry stating that you are out of bounds. Moments later, a team of Law Enforcement wizards arrive wherever you happen to be. They stun you and transport you back to the Ministry building like the animal they believe you to be._

_And as an animal, I have no right to a fair trial, or a trial at all for that matter. I have fewer rights than a hippogriff. So without trial, they take you to the lowest level in the Ministry._

_Have you any idea how many levels there are in that building? Nine, perhaps? Oh no, that's only what they want you to think. But I know better. There are, in fact, ten. And that deepest, dankest level, the one with the 10 etched into the heavy steel door, with no other label, is where they take a magical creature who breaks one of the rules. It is a single, high ceiling room with black walls. If you look hard enough, you can see the stains. For the Ministry, naïve as they are, believe the myth that a silver bullet is the only thing that can kill a werewolf. They distance themselves so far from us that they fail to realize that we are man and mortal as they are, and that a simple spell will do the trick. But in that room, there is a gun - a single, simple handgun with an endless supply of silver bullets. They take you there and make you stand facing them, as they aim at your heart, and soon, you become another faded stain on the walls of a clandestine room._

_And that could be for loving someone._

_So before you mark this essay as "Troll," or write me off for a weeks' worth of detentions, look back, I answered your questions. After all, werewolf or no, I am top of the class._

_You asked how to identify a werewolf. It's easy. Don't go looking for a beast in the woods, no, that _would_ be suicide. Instead, find you a well-populated Wizarding area. Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade will do, and look for someone who sits alone, away from one of their possible future victims. Look for someone who is forced to carry a bag with them whenever they leave home, for to be caught without one's rulebook is a crime in and of itself. Look for someone with a haunted, tired look hidden behind happy eyes. A look that can only come from seeing those stains. Or maybe, just look for me. How to identify a werewolf? Like I said: easy. They walk among you everyday, but most of the world would never notice, because they are too caught up in the monster to see the man._

_And you asked how to kill a werewolf. Well, did I give you enough gory detail to answer the question?_

_So like I said, I hardly believe that this will change you opinion of me, but it never hurts to hope, does it? So you can fail me, or give this too my head of house in hopes that I could be expelled, really do what you will. But at least now maybe you won't be able to simply hate me and what I am with a clean conscience. Maybe now you've had one small taste of what people like me go through, and maybe, just maybe, you might finally see the bigger picture._

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**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Love Always,**

**Kayla**

_A friend is someone who knows everything about you – every dark, horrible secret – and loves you just the same._


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